Three youths have been charged after a report of suspicious activity led Okotoks RCMP on a brief foot pursuit behind the Okotoks Court House in the early morning hours on Thursday, May 29.

The youngest, 12, was charged with one count of mischief, while the 13 and 14-year-olds were both charged with mischief and theft under $5,000. Various items, including a GPS and an iPod were stolen from unlocked vehicles in the downtown core. Mirrors were knocked off of other vehicles, and a camera at the Dollar Store With More on Elizabeth Street was also smashed.

“I don’t know what the hell they were doing out at that time of night,” Sgt. Jim Ross said. “Causing mischief is what they were doing.”

He added that it was too difficult to determine if the youth were involved in other recent car prowlings in the area.

“It’s too hard to tell unfortunately. There’s people out there that are doing it for personal gain,” said Ross. “Earlier this year we had another guy charged for a whole bunch of that too, so we’ve been charging different people as we come across them.”

Ross also wanted to remind residents to call 911 rather than the administrative line, especially during irregular hours, if they see anything out of the ordinary.

“Fortunately someone from the public observed this activity and let us know,” he said. “The thing is, if they call the admin line, no one picks it up and they find it Monday morning. Call 911 so that information can be relayed right away to the officers on patrol and they can respond.”

The youth are scheduled to appear in court on June 27, and RCMP are asking anyone with additional information related to the May 29 incidents to report it to the Okotoks RCMP.

Comments

The Western Wheel welcomes your opinions and comments. We do not allow personal attacks, offensive language or unsubstantiated allegations. We reserve the right to delete comments deemed inappropriate. We reserve the right to close the comments thread for stories that are deemed especially sensitive. For further information, please contact the editor or publisher.